Our pattern of the month is the reindeer! To celebrate we are offering a free coloring page that could also be turned into a stick puppet. And in later blogs we will have free downloads of a reindeer paper bag puppet and a pattern to make a simple felt hand puppet which requires no sewing!
Fun Facts About Reindeer
Even though real reindeer can’t fly like Santa’s reindeer, they still are amazing animals. Reindeer and caribou are the same animal and are a member of the deer family. In Europe they are called reindeer and in North America they are called caribou. The word reindeer doesn’t come from “reins” like in pulling a sleigh. The name “reindeer” is of Norse origin (from the old Norse word “hreinn” for deer).
Other fun facts about reindeer:
- Some North American caribou migrate over 3000 miles a year – more than any land mammal
- Their noses are designed specially to warm the air before it gets to the lungs
- Reindeer are the only species of deer that is widely domesticated
- The bottoms of their hooves is covered with hair to to give a good grip on frozen ground, mud, snow and ice
- Their hooves expand in summer when the ground is soft and shrink in winter when the ground is hard
Upcoming Reindeer Craft Activities
In our next reindeer blog, we’ll be sharing a few ideas and links for some fun reindeer craft activities that we found around the web. We’ll also have a free download pattern for the kids to make their own reindeer paper bag puppet. You can also check out our Puppet of the Month Pinterest Board.
Until then, enjoy our free download of a reindeer coloring page for the kids to color! It can even be cut out and glued to a craft stick to make a stick puppet!
Need a Puppet with a Moving Mouth and Makes Expressions? We’ve got the pattern!
You can buy the Reindeer Puppet Sewing Pattern here. It is available as a digital download so you can start sewing immediately. Each pattern has step by step instructions and free video tutorial. In fact you can watch our free tutorial on how to sew the reindeer puppet right now! Beginner sewists have complimented us on how easy they found our instructions to follow. We recommend using fleece and felt to make our puppets because these fabrics are readily available from craft stores, inexpensive, washable and easy to sew.
What our customers are saying:
“Pattern is well written and easy to follow.”
“These are awesome looking puppets. I love them!”